While watching the new Netflix film “Don’t Say Good Luck,” I turned to my sister and said, “Nobody’s doing it like the Sandler sisters.” Between the two of them, they are now three for three at leading Netflix films.
I first became aware of Sunny and Sadie Sandler, Adam Sandler’s daughters, now 17 and 20, when I watched 2023’s “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” though they appeared in some of their father’s movies before then. I was immediately impressed by their natural screen presence and their ability to capture all the awkwardness, confidence and intensity that comes with being a teen. These were not annoying, over-the-top child actors or 20-somethings trying to pass for teens. They felt like real people with whom I could have grown up or known from Hebrew school.
In one scene, Sunny (as Stacy) is presenting her family with ideas about her Bat Mitzvah entrance and she and Sadie (as Ronnie) start bickering. It quickly escalates to yelling threats of killing and stabbing each other that reminds me of my relationship with my own siblings, and how we love each other unconditionally but can also get into screaming matches for no reason.
And I’ve only gotten more impressed with them in the films they’ve done since then. Earlier this year, Sadie starred in “Roommates,” once again showing off her comedic skills. Her family members didn’t appear in this movie, but she had that same chemistry with the actors playing her parents and brother (Natasha Lyonne, Nick Kroll and Aidan Langford), proving that “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” was no fluke.
The same can be said for Sunny and her onscreen family in “Don’t Say Good Luck,” in which Sunny plays Sophie Birenbaum, a teenager starring in her high school’s production of “Waitress” while her mom (Melanie Lynskey) is dying from cancer. Sunny was able to handle the devastating moments and the tear-jerking scenes without making them schmaltzy and capture genuine moments of happiness, a balance not even all adult actors can pull off.
She also got to show off her musical theater skills and range. She has a nice singing voice — not perfect, but real — and it’s refreshing at a time when so much of the singing we see onscreen is autotuned.
When her dad butt dials her and she overhears her parent’s talking about her mom’s cancer coming back right before her audition, she sings “When He Sees Me” with such raw emotion it’s no wonder she got the role of Jenna.
I’m a huge fan of “Waitress” and I’ve been lucky enough to see Jessie Mueller, Sara Barellies and Shoshana Bean sing “She Used To Be Mine” live and I’m not saying Sunny was better than them, but she certainly held her own and brought new meaning to the song when adding the context of a daughter grieving. She nailed the happy scenes too, like her eagerness to make out with her scene partner.
I am usually disappointed by made-for-streaming movies, but if a Sandler sister is involved, I now know I’ll get a funny, entertaining, relatable film. I hope they keep making more. Sadie’s IMDB says she will be in season three of “Nobody Wants This,” which already makes me more excited about a show I have mixed feelings about.
The state of the world is upsetting, but I can always count on the Sandler sisters to bring the Jewish joy.
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